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WWASP SLAMMED BY UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
Dateline: July 1, 2006 ... Salt Lake City, UT
Contact Name: Paula Reeves
E-mail: paulareeves@paulareeves.com
Web Address: http://www.paulareeves.com
Children's Programs Marred by Scandal
SALT LAKE CITY, UT - July 1, 2006 - The World Wide Association
of Specialty Programs (WWASP), a highly controversial and
monster-size corporation, with a reputation for crushing everyday
moms and dads, has lost yet again - this time in the U.S. Court of
Appeals.
Jeff Berryman, a Pennsylvania advocate for children, was
vindicated in his efforts to blow the whistle on WWASP for child
abuse, neglect, and fraud. Robert Browning Lichfield, the
founder and self-described consultant to WWASP, met those claims
of abuse by dragging Berryman into Utah with a lawsuit
designed to silence him once and for all. But Berryman
prevailed.
In its written opinion, the Federal Court of Appeals gave
examples of television programs and news articles describing
child abuse and neglect at World Wide schools: "The news
magazine 48 Hours reported a child's allegation that he had
been handcuffed for two consecutive days and had his mouth
covered in duct tape. The Miami Herald ran an article describing
a mother's report that her teenager came home from a World Wide
school with ringworm scars and chemical burns. Forbes Magazine
reported that children were punched, kicked, thrown, and forced
to sit on cement floors for twelve hours at a time. The teenager
quoted in the article also claimed that students who tried to
flee from such punishment were locked in a small cell for
days."
Significantly, the Court found WWASP to be a limited purpose
public figure, thereby ratcheting up the standard of legal proof
WWASP must bear in future attacks. As the District Court pointed
out, "World Wide's mission as a marketing company is to take
an active role in this debate by both promoting its members
programs and defending those programs that are marred by
scandal." According to the Court, World Wide thrust itself to
the forefront of the public controversy for the purpose of
influencing the issues involved.
The Court found that defendants PURE and Sue Scheff, "Compete
with the schools associated with World Wide. PURE schools pay
Ms. Scheff a substantial sum whenever a child enrolls in its
program based on her recommendation." On the issue of civil
conspiracy with Scheff, the Court found in favor of
Berryman, stating, "If any reasonable inferences were to be
drawn from the evidence, it is that Mr. Berryman and Ms. Scheff
operated separately, rather than together." The Court
described Berryman as an independent advocate. In contrast,
although winning the defense, Scheff and PURE lost on all
counter-claims against WWASP.
This is not the first time Lichfield and WWASP have targeted
critics. Among those who have worked to expose the WWASP Empire
are news reporter Thomas Houlahan, advocate Shelby Earnshaw and
her watchdog organization, ISAC, teen advocate Barbie Stamp, and
former employees. Amberly Knight, the former director of WWASP
affiliated Dundee Ranch Academy, was threatened with a lawsuit by
WWASP lawyer J. Ralph Atkin if she did not buckle to the
lawyer's threats and retract her claims of child abuse to a
child protection agency. Atkin and WWASP backed off after
receiving a stinging letter from Sheldon Miller, a well-known
Detroit attorney, egging the group to "bring it on."
Washington D.C. news reporter Thomas Houlahan was the first
advocate to successfully defeat WWASP in federal court on grounds
of personal jurisdiction. The ISAC case is pending in southern
Utah. Earnshaw and ISAC are represented by Attorney Phil
Elberg. Elberg, a New Jersey lawyer, won a settlement of
.5 million against an abusive children's program, and he
expects to win against WWASP in its efforts to silence his
clients.
For more information, please visit http://www.paulareeves.com.
The material in this article may not be published, broadcast,
rewritten, or redistributed without the written consent of the
author. To schedule an interview or get her consent, please feel
free to contact her at: paulareeves@paulareeves.com.
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